ASUN Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year
# ASUN Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year

The ASUN Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year award is given to the men's basketball head coach in the ASUN Conference voted as the best by the league's head coaches. It was first awarded at the end of the 1978–79 season, the first season of existence of what was then known as the Trans America Athletic Conference (TAAC). However, the conference did not establish a full regular-season schedule until 1979–80.

There has been one tie for the award, in 2019–20, while 11 coaches have received two or more awards. The program with the most awards (five) and most individual honorees (three), Mercer, left the ASUN in 2014. North Florida has the most awards among current members with three, while the only current member with more than one individual recipient is Lipscomb with two.

## Key

| † | Co-Coaches of the Year |
| - | - |
| Coach (X) | Denotes the number of times the coach has been awarded the ASUN Coach of the Year award at that point |
| Conf. W–L | Conference win–loss record for that season |
| Conf. $St.^T$ | Conference standing at year's end $(^Tdenotes$ a tie; E stands for East, W for West, N for North, and S for South Divisions) |
| Overall W–L | Overall win–loss record for that season |

## Winners

School names reflect the current branding of their respective athletic programs, not necessarily those in use during a program's ASUN membership or in a specific season.

| Season | Coach | School | Conf. W–L | Conf. St. | Overall W–L |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1978–79 | Lenny Fant | Louisiana–Monroe | — | — | 23–6 |
| 1979–80 | Bill Bibb | Mercer | 3–3 | $3^T$ | 16–12 |
| 1980–81 | Gene Iba | Houston Christian | 9–3 | 1 | 18–10 |
| 1981–82 | Ron Kestenbaum | Little Rock | 12–4 | 1 | 19–8 |
| 1982–83 | Frank Kerns | Georgia Southern | 8–6 | $3^T$ | 18–12 |
| 1983–84 | Mike Hanks | Samford | 10–4 | 2 | 22–8 |
| 1984–85 | Bill Bibb (2) | Mercer | 10–4 | $2^T$ | 22–9 |
| 1985–86 | Mike Newell | Little Rock | 12–2 | 1 | 23–11 |
| 1986–87 | Frank Kerns (2) | Georgia Southern | 12–6 | 4 | 20–11 |
| 1987–88 | Frank Kerns (3) | Georgia Southern | 15–3 | $1^T$ | 24–7 |
| 1988–89 | Mike Newell (2) | Little Rock | 14–4 | 2 | 23–8 |
| 1989–90 | Tommy Vardeman | Centenary | 14–2 | 1 | 22–8 |
| 1990–91 | Tommy Vardeman (2) | Centenary | 10–4 | 2 | 17–12 |
| 1991–92 | Frank Kerns (4) | Georgia Southern | 13–1 | 1 | 25–6 |
| 1992–93 | Bob Weltlich | FIU | 9–3 | 1 | 20–10 |
| 1993–94 | John Kresse | Charleston | 15–1 | 1 | 23–6 |
| 1994–95 | Dan Hipsher | Stetson | 11–5 | $2^T$ | 15–12 |
| 1995–96 | Billy Lee | Campbell | 11–5 | 2 (E) | 17–11 |
| 1996–97 | John Kresse (2) | Charleston | 16–0 | 1 (E) | 29–3 |
| 1997–98 | John Kresse (3) | Charleston | 14–2 | 1 (E) | 24–6 |
| 1998–99 | Jimmy Tillette | Samford | 15–1 | 1 | 24–6 |
| 1999–00 | Don Maestri | Troy | 13–5 | $1^T$ | 17–11 |
| 2000–01 | Lefty Driesell | Georgia State | 16–2 | 1 | 29–5 |
| 2001–02 | Sidney Green | Florida Atlantic | 13–7 | 3 | 19–12 |
| 2002–03 | Mark Slonaker | Mercer | 10–6 | $1^T$ (S) | 23–6 |
| 2003–04 | Don Maestri (2) | Troy | 18–2 | 1 | 24–7 |
| 2004–05 | Rick Scruggs | Gardner–Webb | 13–7 | $1^T$ | 18–12 |
| 2005–06 | Scott Sanderson | Lipscomb | 15–5 | $1^T$ | 21–11 |
| 2006–07 | Murry Bartow | East Tennessee State | 16–2 | 1 | 24–10 |
| 2007–08 | Rick Byrd | Belmont | 14–2 | 1 | 25–9 |
| 2008–09 | Cliff Warren | Jacksonville | 15–5 | 1 | 18–14 |
| 2009–10 | Robbie Laing | Campbell | 14–6 | $1^T$ | 19–11 |
| 2010–11 | Rick Byrd (2) | Belmont | 14–4 | 2 | 27–7 |
| 2011–12 | Eddie Payne | USC Upstate | 13–5 | $2^T$ | 22–13 |
| 2012–13 | Bob Hoffman | Mercer | 14–4 | 1 | 24–12 |
| 2013–14 | Bob Hoffman (2) | Mercer | 14–4 | $1^T$ | 27–9 |
| 2014–15 | Matthew Driscoll | North Florida | 12–2 | 1 | 23–12 |
| 2015–16 | Matthew Driscoll (2) | North Florida | 10–4 | 1 | 22–12 |
| 2016–17 | Joe Dooley | Florida Gulf Coast | 12–2 | 1 | 26–8 |
| 2017–18 | Joe Dooley (2) | Florida Gulf Coast | 12–2 | 1 | 23–12 |
| 2018–19 | Casey Alexander | Lipscomb | 14–2 | $1^T$ | 29–8 |
| $2019–20^†$ | Matthew Driscoll (3) | North Florida | 13–3 | $1^T$ | 21–12 |
| $2019–20^†$ | Ritchie McKay | Liberty | 13–3 | $1^T$ | 30–4 |
| 2020–21 | Ritchie McKay (2) | Liberty | 11–2 | 1 | 23–6 |
| 2021–22 | Ray Harper | Jacksonville State | 13–3 | 1 (W) | 21–11 |
| 2022–23 | Amir Abdur-Rahim | Kennesaw State | 15–3 | 1 | 26–8 |

## Footnotes

* ↑ The TAAC did not play a conference schedule in its first season of existence.
* ↑ Known as Northeast Louisiana until the 1999–2000 season.
* ↑ Known as Houston Baptist before the 2022–23 season.
* 1 2 3 Athletically known as Arkansas–Little Rock or UALR until the 2015–16 season.
* 1 2 3 Also best overall conference record.
* 1 2 Known as Troy State until the 2004–05 season.
* ↑ Also tied for best overall conference record.
